Yay! I'm pretty much finished with my college career! Just one more exam and I'm all done! So I decided to sit and write for a bit. Enjoy
Ear piercing screams filled the air, drawing me from my sleep in a painful jolt. Peeta had his head in his hands softly moaning in pain. Somehow I thought the nightmare was over, that when I woke up everything would be different. I didn't expect to wake up to a completely new and more terrifying hell.
"Peeta?" I pulled him closer, but he pushed my arm away. "Whats wrong?"
"They've been screaming all morning." His eyes shut tight and his body trembling, "My head can't take it anymore! I feel like I'm going insane!"
The mist started to fade and behind it was nothing as far as the eye could see. It seemed to outstretch in every direction around the cornucopia. But why did the screams sound like they were coming from nothing?
"Peeta, look at me." His eyes finding mine for only a moment before disappearing behind his beaten hands. Resting my hand on his shoulder, "Peeta, please."
He finally held my gaze. The four days we have been here put its strain on him. He looks like he aged 10 years, and the open gash down his cheek didn't help anything. "You're not going insane. I won't let you. Let me be your anchor."
"Cato, I can't. My head is fuzzy." Peeta answered, "Everything is cloudy. And I wish Clove would just shut up!"
His sudden outburst into the void scared me. Clove? What is he talking about? "Please Cato, make her be quiet! Make them all stop!" his hands shooting up to his ears. The screaming was growing, all of them synchronizing and sweeping across the arena, giving the void an even more hellish atmosphere.
It was hard to separate the screams from each other, but once I did I knew exactly what Peeta was talking about. If he was going insane, then so was I. The unmistakable sound of Clove filled the air, her screams of agony haunting us even after her demise. How was it possible?
Peeta cringed as every shriek filled the air. What was the Capitol up to this time? "Peeta, we should move, maybe we can escape the noise if we move up higher."
He wasn't moving, only rocking back in forth in the fetal position: his hands covering his ears. I've never seen him this broken before. "Peeta, come on. It's worth a try."
We couldn't stay here. It would only mess with our heads further and leave us vulnerable. I had to somehow move him further up the mountain. Not only for our mental health, but sitting out here in the open made us sitting ducks. Even more so now that the arena only consisted of the mountain.
I'd have to carry him if he wasn't going to walk himself. "Peeta, please. I'll carry you if I have to."
His head swung even lower, shaking it side to side trying to tune out the screams. I didn't have a choice, scooping one arm under his knees and lifting, my left hand catching him around his shoulders. Blue eyes opened, questioning my intentions.
"We have to move, Peeta." I felt like I was on repeat, but nothing seemed to be sinking in. The Capitol really did turn this into a living hell. Not only was I fighting for my life, but they took Peeta's sanity and Clove away from me.
Starting my ascent up the mountain, I tried to lose myself in my thoughts to drown out the constant screeching. My only happy memory was with Peeta: our first time. The other thoughts involved Clove and were too hard to think about with her voice ringing in my ears.
Our ascent was difficult. It seemed the mountain had become steeper than I remembered. Peeta seemed to have grown less anxious, sinking into my arms and letting his arms dangle at his side. It started to snow again, and our path for the last hour was covered in a thick blanket of it.
"I'm okay, you can put me down Cato." His whisper seemed unsure.
"Are you sure?" I asked. I wanted to lighten the mood a little, fix Peeta and bring back the one I fell for. "I don't know, I kinda like you in my arms like this."
He didn't seem amused. "Cato, just put me down."
Stopping, I set his feet on the ground and let him walk away from me. "I'm sorry, my heads just all scrambled right now."
"Well, you did hit it pretty hard. You sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, just a little confused." Peeta answered. "And I've got sort of an anxiety problem at the moment, but I think it's getting better."
It must have been, the screeching across the arena wasn't getting any quieter, but at least we weren't out in the open any more. "You want to take a break?"
"Just for a moment, if that's okay." He answered, letting himself fall to the ground. "I'm just so exhausted."
"Take a nap, give yourself some time to relax." His eyes almost instantly shut and he slumped against an icy rock. "I'm gonna see if I can find something to eat. I know it's a long shot, but we have to eat something."
He didn't say anything, only nodding to me as I left him in search of food. As I walked, the dreadful screams grew louder. Trying to clear my head from their noise, I caught sight of my breath. It was getting cold again. The temperature was dropping and this time, when night came, we'd be forced to face them without protection.
"God dammit! Shut up!" I shouted, throwing a clump of snow in the distance.
What? The screaming stopped. Did it actually work? Slowly approaching, I pulled Clove's dagger from my belt. A bird suddenly appeared, perching on top of a rock. I didn't want to move, my aim wasn't as good as Clove's, but I had to at least try.
I readied my hand, making sure my aim was on target. Sudden terror filled me as Clove's blood curdling scream radiated from the bird. This wasn't an ordinary bird. I remember hearing about them, but I couldn't remember their name at the moment. It was some kind of genetically engineered mutt that could mimic people's voices. The Capitol was throwing everything they had to unhinge us.
The bird fell to the ground, Clove's dagger buried deep. Her scream faded until only the echo remained, losing volume every time it bounced off the landscape. Clove would have wanted it to be this way, her dagger to take out her mutt.
I grabbed the bird, looking it over. It was large, enough for both me and Peeta to have a meal. But how was I going to cook it? The trees were gone, and a fire would be too risky, not that we could make or even start one anyway.
The other screams started, filling the sky with their dreadful harmony. At least Clove's voice no longer sang with them. Walking back to camp, I noticed without Clove's voice the others became clearer. I could pick out Cassie's voice. The more I listened, the more it dawned on me that the fallen tributes were the symphony.
At least Clove wasn't a part of it anymore. It made me feel a little better that her pained shouts wouldn't haunt us any longer. I approached our camp, finding Peeta still resting against the rock.
"Look what I found." I threw it on the ground for him to see, its blood quickly staining the snow.
"A Jabberjay?" his eyes dawning at what it meant.
"Not just any. Clove's." he seemed to relax at it.
"So her screams won't be filling the sky anymore?"
"I hope not." The thought seemed to calm him slightly. "But the other tributes are still there."
"I know. I didn't hear Clove's anymore and could pick out the other tributes with hers gone."
"Can we eat this thing?" I asked. I didn't know much about Jabberjays aside from their harsh tongues.
"Maybe if we cooked it, but I would recommend eating anything the Capitol genetically created." Peeta answered, trying to stand.
I dropped down to his side, feeling the marble in my pocket. "Here, take this. You could use it more than me at the moment."
Handing it to him, I could see his eyes linger on the black sphere. "I can't. It's yours."
"Then I'm letting you borrow it. Try to see if it'll help clear your head." I left it in his scratched palm. "Lemme look at your face and hands."
I pulled back part of his face mask, finding it sticking to his wound. He winced as the cloth pulled free revealing the angry scratch.
"This will probably hurt for a moment." I whispered, grabbing some snow and trying to clean the dried blood from his face. He whimpered as I brushed his face, watching his pale skin return. His wound didn't look as bad when it was cleaned. It would leave a scar, but it wasn't all that deep.
"How are your hands?" eyeing his red hands.
"They'll be fine." Peeta answered, "Quit doting on me, Cato."
He grinned up at me before finishing, "Carrying me bridal style and doting on me, I'm not your poor hurt husband."
"I'm just concerned." His grin turned into a laugh as he gently laid his head against me. It was nice to see Peeta starting to be himself again.
"I'll be fine, Cato." He whispered.
I let him rest against me for a moment. "Should we get going?" he asked, blue eyes meeting mine.
"I suppose." I answered. He pulled himself away from me as I stood.
"Maybe we should keep this with us, just in case we get desperate enough to eat it." I said, picking up the Jabberjay and holding it towards him.
"I don't think I'd ever be desperate enough to eat Clove." Peeta smirked.
"Haha, very funny." I answered. He did make a good point though; it kind of would be like eating Clove.
"Come on, wise guy." I started, "Get up. Lets ge—"
"Cato!" Peeta was on his feet instantly.
What was going on? My whole body suddenly frozen and numb. I forced myself to look down, finding a familiar arrowhead jutting from my shoulder.
"Peeta?" The sudden pain flooded through me. White hot pain. Peeta was running towards me as I fell to the ground.
A/N: Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed.